Motorbike Sir?

There’s something you gotta know about me Joe Rogan…

I apologize for the lack of communique on my part. It could be due to the fact that I am currently lounging in paradise.

Koh Tau is a small island off of the eastern coast of Thailand. It has a reputation of being a very popular dive spot, which is why most people are here. I am currently enrolled in a PADI SCUBA open water certification course. The class involves a fair amount of classroom time along with 4 dives out in the ocean. Yesterday we had our first two dives in Mango Bay, and I must say it was amazing. Today we finished up the course with our final 2 dives. We saw some great sea life: Clown fish (think Nemo), Blue-spotted rays, Trigger fish, and Angelfish. I now need to decide whether to take the Advanced certification course. You get another 5 dives (including a night dive) as well as decend down to 30 meters. It would be more money outside my budget but I think it might be worth it.

This is definately a place where people spend more time than they anticipated. One of the diving instructures came here for 2 weeks and has so far stayed for 2 1/2 years. I want to check out some more of the island (they rent motorbikes), and I would also maybe like to stay at a bungalow on the other side of the island (accessed only by boat).

The sunsets here keep getting more and more amazing. Last night we sat on some rocks on the beach while drinking Thai rum with coke. A much cheaper way to spend the evening as opposed to the bars. Tonight the PADI class is meeting for dinner and drinks. I anticipate the night to be long and the memories to be vauge. I’ve been getting some good pictures, but unfourtunatly the internet is expensive here and computers slow. You will all have to wait a few days for some tasty photos.

Neil (smiling)

Last night began inncoently enough. I was interested in wating the Euro 2004 finals at a bar, however it didn’t start until 1:45 in the morning. To prepare for the revalry that was bound to happen I took a late evening nap. I woke up around 11 pm in my sweatbox of a room disoriented and hot. A cold shower did the trick.

I headed downstairs to find Tom, an English fellow I had met the previous evening, who I joined for a few beers. He was leaving the next day for Laos so it was my last chance to get to talk to him. Game time approached, so I said goodbye and headed out onto the deserted streets. All ofTthailand must have gone someplace to watch the game because I didn’t know the streets of Bangkok could be so empty. I managed to find a Tuk Tuk and was in the process of negotiating a reasoable fare when my friend Andrew appeared from out of the darkness, sweaty beer in hand. I had been hanging out with Andrew for the past few nights and invited him to join me. He had just walked all the way back from Kao San road, but was game for some more entertainment so we hopped in the Tuk Tuk and headed out. At such a late hour not many bars were still serving booze but luckily an enterprising Thai was selling cold beers from a cooler in the street. We couldn’t take the beers inside the bar so we had to watch the game from the street.

Over the course of the night we drank with two French guys and had a blast. The occasional downpour was a welcome relief from the heat. As the sky grew light I found myself on top of a 7 story building looking over the city with a hodgpodge of European and Austrialian travelers. Andrew got talking to a gorgeous Welsch girl and I fell asleep. The buzz-killing sun soon reared its ugly head, so we took that as our cue to leave. Back on Kao San we were immediatly hasseled by a pair of hookers. They had at one time quite obviously been men, but were now of the opposite sex and had the hardwear to prove it (they were eager to show us). I quickly grew tired of the interchange yelled “get away from me bitch, you know i’m impotent,” and headed back towards the guesthouse.

On our walk back we passed a market. Andrew insited that I eat a Stink Bean. For about 5 minutes he kept telling me that it was the worst thing that I would ever eat, but that I had to try it. I was not opposed to eating it as long as Andrew joined me. I did not find it too bad (I would probably decline one in the future). Andrew’s stomach was not too happy with the stink bean causing him to promptly boot on the sidewalk.

After some shrip fried rice for breakfast (helping to cleanse my mouth of the stink bean) we were back at the guesthouse talking to some early risers. It was close to 7:30, which was also happend to be the time Andrew was supposed to be on his bus back to Phnom Pehn. He thought there might be a later bus and was determined to catch it. I headed off to bed. I think tomorrow i’m going to head to Ko Tau, an island off the easter coast of Thailand. Supposed to be some great scuba diving and a great place to relax.

Here are some photos from Bangkok: Temple of the Emerald Buddha Temple grounds at Grand Palace The Royal Palace Inside of a river ferry Shanti guest lodge View from a ferry

Towelie said it best... Hello from Bangkok. I made it. My plane got in around 11:30 pm, which made finding accommodation an interesting prospect. I was thinking about hanging out in the airport until morning, but i desperately needed a shower. A ... [Continue reading this entry]